softie

The other day I picked up a copy of a brand new magazine called Love Sewing. It was the first issue, and I will definitely be getting again, as without fail pretty much everything in there is either useful and/or beautiful. There is a rather nice pattern for a simple shift dress, which is begging to be made… Incidentally, Very Berry Handmade has also been inventing some lovely Liberty themed projects which were in the freebie magazine which came with it. Got to love Liberty’s beautiful fabrics.

Anyway, the first project I tackled was the fabric Russian doll trio, which was in the freebie Liberty magazine.

Instead of scraps, I used a set of three fat quarters which I got from Stampin Up a while ago. I have been saving them for something special, as the fabric is so lovely, especially the middle one, which has cameos on it.

Each doll has a different pattern on the back, to make them a bit more exciting, and I used white felt for the faces. I have been wanting to make some fabric Russian dolls for ages, to go on our new bookshelf, but I couldn’t find the right pattern. This pattern was so simple, and there is so much scope to decorate them up in different ways. I’m tempted to make another set sometime soon!

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On the weekend I had a go at making a Mollie doll from issue 14 of Mollie Makes. It was a great scrap-buster, making good use of an old pillowcase, scrap patterned fabric and my massive felt collection (no idea how I have accumulated so much felt!)I am really pleased with the result, and have another 4 in the pipeline already (both as presents and orders).

The pattern calls for the face features to be made with felt scraps, but I always come unstuck with cutting out and placing a matching pair of eyes. So I did a quick hunt on Pinterest and found a great link with doll facial feature ideas. I will definitely be referring to that again in the future. I just drew the details on in pencil and then embroidered on.

I think I will be keeping her, as she is not quite perfect. I had issues getting her legs in place, so will need to make some tweaks next time. I think I should probably be not so hard on myself, as it is only me who notices the fact her skirt hem is a bit squiff!

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After going shopping yesterday and seeing some very cute fabric owls, I decided to have a go at making some myself.

Yet another great way of using up my huge bag of little fabric scraps!

I had a couple of issues with stuffing them and making a tidy stuffing hole. I ended up sewing on buttons to cover the stuffing holes, and it has the added benefit they now stand up. I have also bought some small keyrings to attach to them when I get around to it.

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Happy January everyone! For my first post of 2013, I’m going to share another one of my Christmas present projects. One of my friends sent me this owl Christmas card, and it inspired me to get creating.

I used it as a template, and added a couple of cm all the way round for a seam allowance. I then went mad with my scrap selection and buttons to create this little gremlin owl monster below.

I’m not entirely convinced by his feet but overall I quite like him. I love the colours – the turquoise spotty fabric was a curtain from the IKEA scrap bin. I’m planning to use some of the fabric to make a skirt in the near future.

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Since I was at a loose end on Friday, I decided to make a cat for my friend for Christmas. The pattern is from a book called Meet Me at Mike’s: 26 Fun and Crafty Projects, which I was given to me as a present last year (I have a little stash of crafty books which I love to look through every now and then for inspiration).

Here are my bits of cat, all cut out and ready to sew. The fabric is from a charity shop near where I used to work, which had a great craft section at the back. Below is the completed cat.

I have made another one of these cats which you can see here. This one was also for a present and I used some lovely Liberty Tana Lawn fabric to make the belly.